I was very friendly with a family, living in Prestbury, Cheshire who had come over here from Johannesburg because of the violence. They said every time they went on holiday their house girl would move her family in because of the threat of burglery, rape etc and as they wanted to have a family they decided to relocate here. What happened 6 years later? They returned to South Africa, to Durban not Johannesburg and their reason? The level of violence in the UK. I spent all of my 20's and part of my 30's living in the middle east and far east and alwlays felt completely safe. We have been back in the UK now for 18 years and I feel so damned unsafe in this country. Winters, safety, taxes and the Labour take on politics - no wonder people are leaving in their thousands every single month. My brief encounters with SA meant all the normal suspects - superb food, wine, scenery, animals, beaches. The list goes on and on.

Maureen Fry, Macclesfield